Seeking a certain type of tenant

Question: I’m interested in renting out a room with a private bath in the lower level of my home. Does renting out a room in a personal residence come under the same federal laws prohibiting discrimination, or do I have more leeway? I want to rent to a graduate student, preferably female, because I live alone and would feel more comfortable with a renter of the same sex.

Answer: If you want to place an ad online or in a newspaper, the publisher will have to abide by the fair-housing rules, in spite of the fact that the housing you’re offering is in your home.

On the other hand, no law prevents you from announcing to the pals you join on your morning walk or writing on a sign stuck to a lamppost that a rental to a female grad student is available in your home. These communications do not involve a publisher, and they don’t involve a professional broker.

If you are set on finding a lodger with those characteristics and are wary of violating fair-housing laws, word of mouth might be the way to go.

-- Janet Portman, Inman News

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E-mail Janet Portman at janet@inman.com.